Idol Chatter

CHRIS SLIGH

was voted off "American Idol" last night. TV writer Ellen Gray and music writer Jonathan Takiff weigh in on the show:

WHY HE GOT THE BOOT:

Ellen: The tongue-lashing one of the funniest "Idol" contestants ever got from the judges for being out of step with the band seems to have had more effect on voters than all Sanjaya Malakar's caterwauling. Or maybe, like Simon ("Bye-bye, Curly"), viewers just didn't like his hair?

Jon: Viewers were swayed by the high-court ruling, even though off-base (see below). See ya on the tour, curly locks.

WHO SHOULD HAVE GONE:

Ellen: Sanjaya, who seems to spend more time on his hair than on his singing. As Simon says, he's in his own universe now.

Jon: You gotta admire Sanjaya's goofy charm and nerve, his ability to defy the laws of gravity by not crashing. Still, the boy's the weakest link. After him, Haley Scarnato deserved the hook for another ho-hum performance with the sing-songy "True Colors."

JUDGING THE JUDGES:

Jon: "A.I." ought to force judges to listen on headphones to the same sound mix viewers hear. Their misappraisal of Chris Sligh's "train wreck" performance was rooted in distraction - hearing the audience (seated right behind them) clapping on the wrong beat, creating a jumbled, stadium-concert effect. Chris bit his tongue at the whip-lashing, but he was in the groove, innocent of all charges.

Ellen: Is it just me, or does Paula seem more lucid these days? But then she is sitting next to Simon, whose latest Britishism - "chalk and cheese," to describe the difference between Gina Glocksen's performances last week and this - probably left many scratching their heads. *